Living along the Louisiana Gulf Coast, an unstable, complex wetlands area, I am interested in the power of place to inspire my work. Recently, I have begun to ask, what are the inner dynamics of a fragile ecosystem? How does regeneration and renewal take place after devastation? What accounts for the power of water as giver and taker of life? What explains the ebbs and tides of the river, the processes of erosion and sedimentation, the fury of storms?
It is the contemplation of these issues that brings me into the studio every day. In the process of painting I become engaged with the fluid interaction of mediums, the push and pull of color and shape, the ambiguity of space. I build layer upon layer, scraping back to expose markings and puddles, intensifying and sublimating color, adding more and more layers until the painting coalesces into an image that is both familiar and unknowable. Through this process of trying to find order in a sea of chaos, I am creating interior floating worlds that connect me with the mysteries of the outer world.
Website: http://allisonstewart.com